Chapter 4

Chapter 3: Scorching Sunlight At Seven

"People think a soulmate is a perfect fit and that's what everyone wants. But a true soulmate is a mirror; the person who shows you everything that is holding you back; a soulmate's purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in."

- Elizabeth Gilbert

It was seven in the evening and the streetlights were as bright as floodlights in a sports stadium. Randhir walked on the Mumbai Boulevard, lined by tall neem trees. Their shadows met on the road, giving it an eerie air. What added to the eeriness was the very bright light given off by the streetlights. Everything was all right and yet something was amiss, just like the scenario the lights and the trees played out in front of him. After that night with Sanyukta 2 years ago, he couldn't bring himself to be in the presence of another woman who might remotely be romantically inclined towards him. He asked to be laid off from the agency, citing less time as the reason for leaving but only he knew why he really let go of the job even though he was rewarded well.

He didn't know if it was love or attraction but he knew it was above either of the two. After their rendezvous, Randhir felt like a certain weight had been lifted off him. His experience of living was beneficial to another person though it had only encumbered his spirit all through his life. His grief had been emancipated from the shackles of his heart. And he couldn't have been happier.

He felt he didn't need to contact her, as destiny would bring them together, if their being together were written in the stars. He prayed for her each day as fervently as he would pray for his family. And his new business.

After he had let go of the escorting job, he had to begin a new venture to support his family and himself. Since he had been a waiter and his mother made delectable dishes, he thought he would try his hand at opening a restaurant in his neighborhood from the savings and culinary experience he had amassed over the years. He bought a plot of land and began to transform it into a restaurant. It was the size of a chawl-room at first but business picked up and it grew multifold over time.

She was responsible for turning his life around in a manner such as this without even knowing it herself. And he had always been grateful for the ray of sunlight that had been sent into his perpetually frosty life.

~/~

A seven-year-old Sanyukta was holding her father's hand, adamantly refusing to let him go to office.

"Papa, please don't go to office today! You never stay home with me!" she said, bludgeoning him with her hands.

Her mother and 13-year-old brother were trying so hard to free her father from her hands but she had a steel grip and tremendous energy for her age. It was outright preposterous for any self-respecting man to not go to work on a weekday. Realizing her father's impatience, she began crying and her long, black hair spread all over her face. Her father didn't fail to notice that and he sent Anju and Ankit away. He bent down to wipe the tears off his daughter's face and caressed her cheeks with both his hands.

"Beta, I know you want me to stay at home but your dad has to work so that you can have the prettiest dolls there are."

"I don't want dolls. I want you."

Those words compelled him to engulf her in a hug and mutter a lullaby into her ears. She seemed to have ceased crying. He looked at her again.

"My darling daughter, your father loves his work. Someday, you will be a businesswoman too. And I'm sure you'll be as successful as me because you will have inherited the business gene from me."

~/~

That memory brought Sanyukta back to reality from her reverie. Each day, she would remember a moment from the time when she had a family and today was the turn for this one. She was graduating from college. She was a mechanical engineer, finally. She wasn't sure if she was ready to take up the family business from her maternal uncles. But her gut told her that she would succeed because her father had predicted it so.

She forsook numerous job interviews because she had a ready business waiting for her. She had garnered the attention of many companies because of her perfect scores which wouldn't have graced her resume had she not had that meeting with Randhir. He was that bolt of electricity that set her straight.

She had stopped drinking since that night and decided to be thankful for all she had because she realized that there were people who were far less fortunate than her. She made the best of the opportunity she had to be educated.

Thus began her business of manufacturing car parts. She was a trainee in the organization first, learning each aspect of the production. She gradually made her way up in the organization and ended in the highest position of the CEO. She was hell bent on giving her life and soul to this company, the last memory of her father. Soon enough, it dawned on her that she didn't enjoy it as much as her father did when he was in the same position. Maybe the generation and time gap is making the difference, she thought. One fine day after trying immensely hard to love her job, it struck her that managing and striking business deals was not her forte but working with machines was. She couldn't step down from the position, as that would attract bad and unwanted media attention. Maybe she needed a jolt of electricity again. His electricity.

~/~

"Give me Randhir Shekhawat, please."

"Sorry, Ma'am! We have no employee by that name."

"Jack Sparrow, then."

"He left work 6 years ago, Ma'am."

"Check again. Be sure of what you are saying."

"I am sure."

"I want him. Find him from wherever you can or be prepared to be arrested for lack of cooperation with the police."

~/~

Always,

Arushi